Les sentinelles

Painting

Catherine Bertaud

Presentation

Despite their apparent simplicity, my paintings are composed of many color patches distributed so as to balance naturally in the limited area of the canvas.

Shapes are stylized, reality is distorted and subjects are partially drawn and sometimes multiplied. The characters are static and thus enigmatic.

I intentionally use a restricted color palette, without shading off, and play with it in order to accentuate the contrasts and strengthen some bright spots. Black borders outline shapes to distinguish every part of a body.

Shadows, protective or ghostly ones, are there to suggest another story in the background while creating a depth of field or an illusion of perspective. All these elements; the choice of this technique; voluntary exclusion of some details and anarchic duplications; leave the field open for the imagination.